Lesson 2: Readers and Markets
1) From the following information about a fire in Melford, construct a news story for the local evening paper. The piece should be re-written from the information given and attention should also be paid to spelling, punctuation and other errors. There is no need for you to reduce the length of the story, other than by omitting any wasteful words or irrelevant information. The emphasis in this exercise is on producing a lively, readable, accurate story – so you will need to stick to the facts which are provided.
Fire caused extensive damage last night to the oldest building in Melfrod, the Copper Kettle restaurant in High Street. Built in 1678 it has become famous for it's timbered frontage. The fire occurred about 9.00 p.m., when many customers were finishing dinner. It is believed to have started in the kitchen on the ground floor, and it spread quick upwards through the two storey building. One of the proprietors, Mrs. Sarah Smith aged 74, was trapped by the fire in the office on the first floor. She managed to escape from a window near a stationary cupboard. She and her sister Miss Emma Brown aged 71 only bought the premises six months ago. They were born in Melford and it had been their ambition to aquire the Copper Kettle. The building is fairly unique in the Melford area because of its historic appearance. It recieves a lot of attention from foreign tourists. The firemen were under the command of Divisional Officer John White who said "The building was already burning fiercely by the time we arrived. It was a pretty, desperate situation. We called in all available appliances, and some had to make considerable journeys. A few auxilary fireman also helped. The old street is to narrow that it was difficult for us to maneouvre our appliances, and we would have preferred to have less people around. The police, however were very good at liason and soon cleared the onlookers out of the way. We have had lots of practise at this kind of operation, so we all knew how to procede. (260 words).
One of Melford’s most prestigious buildings and restaurants has suffered extensive fire damage.
The Copper Kettle Restaurant, situated on the high street, was approaching the end of a busy dinner service when the fire broke out in its ground floor kitchen at 9pm.
The fast-moving fire trapped one of the owners in a first-floor office before spreading throughout the two-storey building.
Co-owner Sarah Smith, 74, managed to avoid serious injury by escaping through the office window.
By the time the fire brigade arrived, the Copper Kettle was already engulfed in flames. Divisional Officer John White described the scene as “a pretty desperate situation.”
The initial response was diminished by onlookers, making it difficult to manoeuvre equipment down the high street’s old narrow roads.
They were supported by auxiliary fire fighters and “all available appliances” from the surrounding areas.
Once the police were able to disperse the crowds, Mr White and his team were able to tackle the blaze. “We have had lots of practice at this kind of operation, so we all knew how to proceed.”
The building itself was built in 1678 and is the oldest in Melford. It was unique amongst the community for its timbered façade.
The local owners, Mrs Smith and Miss Emma Brown, 71, realised a long-term ambition by buying the Copper Kettle Restaurant just six months ago.
The devastating fire will have a lasting effect on Melford, having lost part of its heritage, and a popular tourist hotspot.
2) Identify (at least) one new market you might be potentially interested in writing for – it could be a newspaper, magazine or website local or national – and carry out a detailed readership profile. If you can, find out any additional information about your chosen publication – who produces it, what is the circulation, how often is it published, etc – and any contact names.
Having carried out your initial research, do you still see it as a potential outlet for your writing? If so, identify any ideas you have about suitable articles, how you would plan your initial approach – and to whom. If not, identify why not – and whether your research has helped point you in the direction of an alternative outlet which might be more suitable. (Maximum: 300 words)
A publication I have explored is The Athletic which is an online, subscription-based website.
Initially set up in North America, they later expanded into the UK to cover football. According to the Guardian, they currently have 1.2m subscribers worldwide.
The website shuns advertising and click bait style (like some rival sports sites) and instead tailors to long form stories and analysis of the subscribers’ local or favourite teams.
The Athletic thrives on interesting stories; their focus has been to use experienced journalists and writers. On entering the UK market in 2019, The Athletic was successful in employing respected journalists from many major local and national newspapers.
With this in mind, I believe that I would need many published pieces before being considered.
As a result of further research, I believe the community newspaper market would be a good starting place for my writing.
The Enfield Dispatch is a free community newspaper that distributes 15,000 copies a month.
It is published by Social Spider CIC, who also publish several other community papers in neighbouring London boroughs.
The Dispatch is funded by local advertising and voluntary contributions from members, who are encouraged to “create content which is responsive to and reflective of the community.”
The Dispatch promotes a ‘write for us’ section on its website. This page outlines how to pitch ideas to the editor and provides the newspaper’s requirements on word counts for various articles.
The Tottenham Independent and Waltham Forest Echo have similar set-ups.
Since most local newspapers only dedicate one page of coverage to its sports clubs, it would be more suitable to write an article that appeals to the wider community. For example, the Tottenham Hotspur Foundation providing coaching sessions to a school in a deprived area.
